In Memory

On March 1, 2018 three young children lost their father. A wife lost her husband. A little league lost their President. And the entire Little League family the world over lost a “little league guy”.

At the early age of 35, Travis Hough, President of Saydel Little League in Des Moines, Iowa passed away suddenly and unexpectedly. Travis is a man who personifies the morals of Little League; in both the way that he conducted his league and, moreover, the way he conducted himself in life. He took on a struggling league and committed himself to turning the league around. Everyone could witness his hard work and dedication during the short 4 months of the season; the coaching, the lawn mowing, the field dragging. What everyone did not get to witness was the other 8 months; the phone calls and texts with other presidents and district staff seeking ways to improve the league. The calls and meetings with the county pleading with them to inject funds into the league. All the crazy background stuff that all his volunteer brothers and sisters are all too familiar with. Yet he always smiled, sometimes through gritting teeth and fatigue. Maybe even, at times, to fend off waving the white flag. But he never did that; he worked and he persevered, and he set an example not just for his own league, but for the leagues he partners with and, through his story, hopefully leagues everywhere. But that is the boring stuff.

Travis is so much more to so many more people. No one is just a Little League volunteer. Travis is a son, a friend, a husband to Savana, and most importantly a daddy to Pierce, Hana, and Brahk, and a second daddy to all those little kids that he coached in baseball and in life. Travis is a man of genuine character and joy, who humbly and unknowingly, shared both with the world around him. This is a loss for Little League all around the globe, this is undeniable. What he brings to Little League, the values of it that he lived every single day, will be missed. Here, in Iowa District 3, we will certainly miss these things too. But more importantly we are going to terribly miss our endlessly smiling friend and Little League brother. We've yet to reconcile this all in our heads and hearts, and who knows if and when we will.

Some losses are maybe never meant to be. But we rest easy tonight knowing that Travis is busy with a bunch of kids in heaven trying to figure out the data center to charter a new league. Thank you, Travis, for being a part of Little League, our district, our leagues, and our lives. Rest in peace.